Ohorongo Cement of Namibia has announced a three-year contract with contractors Basil Read to supply cement for the building of the St Helena Airport, according to local press reports.

The project is funded by the Department for International Development (DFID) of the British government. The airport project is valued at NAD2.5bn in total and construction over 48 months will include paved runways, a rock-fill, reinforced concrete culvert, a terminal and combined building, air-traffic control tower, a 14km long airport road and all related logistics.

Speaking to the Informante, Johan Burger, the sales and logistics manager for Ohorongo Cement, said that the company is “very excited about supplying cement to this project and we are very happy that Basil Read afforded us this opportunity.”

The island of St Helena is located about 1900km off the African coast and measuring only 16km by 8km, is considered one of the world’s most remote locations.

Following a recent tour of the facility, Graham Temlett, GM of the Basil Read St Helena Airport Project, said that “of course the impressive operating modern plant, the high quality of the product reflected in the certification and specifications of Ohorongo Cement, and the necessary quality procedures and controls that are implemented during the manufacturing process, also impressed us, making the decision even easier.”

The cement will be exported in one-and-a-half-tonne bulk-bags packed into 20ft containers, by means of a 3000t vessel, which will operate between St Helena and Walvis Bay port on a three-week cycle.